NOVEL NEXT Chapter 289
Violet Moriarty was clever. She swiftly obtained the full transcripts of the speeches from key figures, including the Emperor and the Hero from the south, and analyzed their contents, concluding that the Empire was entering the most powerful system since the war.
“The fact that I can’t even control a single warlord in my front yard leaves me helpless to stop him from making peace with the enemy.”
Moriarty lamented sadly.
“The soldiers I recruited flee because I don’t want them, while the enemy’s Emperor easily turns them into his own. I admired the Great Emperor of France, but the sight of him returning when Violet is in bloom is none other than that of the red-haired enemy commander.”
Rose herself was completely unaware, but the scene of her soldiers aiming their guns at her was profoundly shocking for Violet. She aimed to become the Napoleon of this world, inheriting the reputation of her father, known as the Napoleon of the criminal world.
Napoleon Bonaparte, after being imprisoned and returning to Paris, encountered an army sent to suppress him and managed to turn them back into his own with just a few words. Violet could envision herself binding surrounding forces through various schemes and threats, but it was hard to imagine being supported out of genuine loyalty.
Sometimes, she couldn’t even clearly define what she wanted. It was just a repeating cycle of crises, crises, and more thorny paths.
“Mother, please share your thoughts. I have castrated Jean Helmut’s private soldiers with this action. Is there a chance he harbor resentment and betray us?”
“There will be no such occurrence.”
“What’s your reasoning? Be it human or monster, creatures that walk on two legs and think with a big head are inherently untrustworthy.”
“Your Majesty. Succubus blood flows through your veins. I am their ruler and most knowledgeable about our greatest weapon.”
“The greatest weapon of a succubus is only lust, isn’t it?”
“You will understand what I mean.”
Violet pondered for a moment, trying to grasp her mother’s words. It wasn’t until a few moments passed that the Emperor’s understanding broke into a loud laugh.
“That guy? Daring to challenge me? Where on earth did he get that idea? My question is, even if that were true, how did you know? That’s what I’m asking.”
“As I mentioned, I am the ruler of the demons. If I couldn’t discern even the smallest signals, I wouldn’t be able to act. However, the turbulence he felt when he looked at your Majesty was more intense than anything I’ve ever witnessed before.”
“You crazy bastard. It’s audacious, but if this Demon King is so attractive to even that lowly creature, it would be uncalled for to scold him. Anyway, if that’s the case, then the worry lies not in betrayal but in accidents caused by excessive loyalty.”
“I’m glad you realize that now.”
“The enemy has made clear their intention not to engage me with schemes or tricks. If you read the Grand Mage’s speech, it becomes clear. It is a calamity for us, who will struggle to gain counterattack opportunities unless we overwhelm the enemy with intelligence in unfavorable situations. This guy is indeed a steadfast general. No matter how optimistic I am, this won’t be an easy fight.”
“Your Majesty, I have a question.”
The Succubus Queen cautiously inquired. Violet permitted the question.
“Please, go ahead.”
“Are we really preparing to besiege the Demon King’s Castle this time?”
The Mage Emperor slightly closed his eyes. Only one intention was read on her face.
‘The time has come.’
“Yes. There’s a very high probability that the enemy will reach here.”
“…I understand.”
The Succubus Queen kept her words sparse. She didn’t mention the one fact that history has proven: that no Demon King who allowed the enemy to mass at the entrance to the Demon King’s Castle and lived long enough to succeed in repelling them ever existed.
On another note, the reason the Succubus Queen had earnestly suggested retreating was related to this context. The Emperor considered her proposal seriously but ultimately said.
“For various reasons, retreating to the west is impossible. And the curse of the previous Demon King has no significance to me. Is there any predecessor Demon King that has devoured 70% of the continent, set Eramenia ablaze, or killed tens of thousands of elves? Even adding up the achievements of my predecessors, it wouldn’t be half of what I’ve accomplished. If we allow the enemy to mass at the entrance of the Demon King’s Castle and successfully repel them, it would only prove once again that Violet is better than any previous Demon King.”
It was oddly persuasive, so I just accepted it.
But this time, Violet felt she didn’t have a sharp foolproof tactic either.
“I really miss Diana.”
“I also believe there was something she could have contributed.”
The Succubus Queen and the Gargoyle Queen were long-standing rivals, competing for the Demon King’s favors from the very beginning. The Gargoyle Queen envied the close blood ties of the Succubus with the Demon King, but the Succubus, who was well aware of the Demon King’s history of patricide, couldn’t simply relax about that, so the tension between them persisted for decades.
On the other hand, both queens were comrades who united to check the unfaithful Dragon Lord and conquer humanity to solidify the Demon King’s hegemony.
When the Gargoyle Queen died, the division of labor between them had already progressed to the point where they had silently agreed to cooperate rather than compete. The Demon King was greatly saddened by the news of the Gargoyle Queen’s death, and the Succubus Queen was troubled as well. Though she made efforts to fill that position with a capable human, Emperor Audrich delivered a splendid performance that raised questions about the strategy itself, dealing a blow to Violet.
“Your Majesty the Emperor. I will take charge.”
“Your mother? No way. You know very well that you can’t fight, don’t you?”
“The enemy will concentrate their power and cannot win while clashing with the concentrated force of our allies. At least one person… one person must lead the army. If you don’t want to give Helmut too much power, then you must either employ untested monsters in this urgent situation or you must take on all responsibilities yourself, Your Majesty. It’s not the time for you to lead the intercepting forces into battle; you need to focus on strengthening the defenses of the Demon King’s Castle.”
“But mother…”
“The Hellhound was indeed a beast on the battlefield, but the place where he truly surpassed human limits was at the desk.”
The Succubus Queen said.
“According to the information I acquired, today’s Hero is not administratively incapable either. However, he is no genius like Helhound or Harker.”
“Well, I suppose that’s true.”
“The enemy’s advance route is long, and its control is weak. The supply lines established by the previous Hero are solid, but the supply routes for the areas where the enemy has advanced since then are fragile. The best way to block the enemy is to target that weakness. If you give me the Shadow Knights, I’ll harass the enemy’s advance from the mountains, buying time for our allies to defend.”
“Well, there is no one more capable of doing so than you, mother, but…”
The Demon King wore an ambiguous expression. It seemed as if he were pondering how many successful outcomes the Succubus Queen had achieved on her own military missions over the past ten years.
It wasn’t completely nonexistent. But it was hard to recall any instance where the Succubus Queen had earned a convincing victory against an enemy commander of hero caliber.
“Well, it cannot be helped. Don’t strive too hard to win, and move appropriately. Keep in mind that the restoration of the Moriarty Machine is proceeding smoothly. This is a battle that you can win simply by buying time, and your only task is to buy that time.”
The Moriarty Machine, a unique mana storage device developed by James Moriarty.
This machine, which Violet Moriarty was developing even to the extent of resurrecting the father she had killed as a zombie, had been destroyed by the schemes of the hero Walter Hellhound, who could foresee the future, and had been unable to be restored for a while.
However, with the preparations of Jean Helmut’s legion somewhat completed, the Mage Emperor could redirect the knowledge of her father, which had been used for “cannon production,” back into the development of the Moriarty Machine. Especially now that the line of infantry had been downsized and firearms remained, it was a perfect condition to devote entirely to machine recovery.
The reason the Demon King could believe in the possibility of victory while preparing for the siege of the Demon King’s Castle depended solely on this machine. It had already been proven that the mana storage capacity of this machine was enough to cast the most explosive magic known, “Manhattan.”
This was a powerful magic capable of annihilating human forces in one blow, and one of those scrolls had already fallen into the hands of the Demon King.
Unfortunately for Violet, she didn’t possess the ability to replicate this scroll. Unlike Jenis, who was theoretically proficient in both light and dark magic and could memorize the scroll entirely, Violet had nearly no foundational knowledge of light magic or divine power. She couldn’t even copy the Manhattan scroll verbatim.
But one was enough.
Once the Moriarty Machine is completed, there would be countless ways to exclude the enemy, shatter them, and erase them from this world.
In fact, she hadn’t started making this machine with the concept of strange grand magic like “Manhattan” in mind. The usage purpose for this machine was entirely different, and if that experiment were to succeed, it could gain such immense power that even the Grand Magic of Jeongjae might appear insignificant.
“They probably won’t know.”
Violet Moriarty muttered.
“How many people can say that Sherlock Holmes didn’t walk home on his own, but was instead chased back to London due to suffering a defeat from our father?”